Armor-piercing projectile.



ITED STATES TOAQZZ whom z' may concern: l Beit known that we, ALEXANDER G. Mo- KENNA andA WILLIAM D ALTON, citizens of vthe United -Sltatesfresidfing at Washington, 'ilnythe District of Columbia, have invented certainrvnew and useful Improvements in Armor-.Piercing Proj ectiles; and we do heref by declare the. following to be a full, clear, and exact` description ofl the same, refer-` 1 ence being had tothe accompanying drawings, formi-ng.Y part of this specification.

, This invention relates 'to'armor piercingl l projectiles and specifically to that part of kSuch projectiles commonly designated asy the f, {"cap. -Caps ofthe type herein contemplated Vserve to facilitate the passage of the' body of the' yprojectile through resistent protective armor andi are commonly made Ofmetal f 5 whichisv tough but soft Or ductile as com- ,1; pared withv the projectile itself Or the nose "fportionfroff thefprojectile, 'although it has Vhardened striking portion integral with the body ofthe cap. Practical experience and ties? are enhanced by the provision of an eX- ceedinglyhardnose or striking portion for sg'nedflas: an improvement upon this type of device,thefobject being" not only to increase heeciency but to provide a structure which-gis! capablejofbeing manufactured by formi-tyv in; structural characteristics and in ultimate. action, not' practically attainable when an'integral cap is made part hard and partsis OI? are of complicated formation.

lIn :carry-ing the present invention into practice,they cap may have any approved contour` lines, and the contour lines at the forward endofthe projectile as; a whole may beformed or established 'by a forwardly extendingfpart commonly designated as a windshield,-which latter, however, does not Pthearmor piercing characteristics are concerned. At the forward. end of the cap proper there is provided in the present structure an .exceedingly hard and tough body i section formedseparate from' but held in place by the body of the cap, the hardened Speccation of Letters' Patent.

Application filed August 8, 1917. Serial No. 185,163.

i l-beeil'fproposed Vto form such caps with *al rtests show Vthat the armor lpiercing quali-y `",thegcap, and the'prese'nt; invention is de-` ln'iowi; methods jandwhich Will give a uni-v part soft, or wherein the hardenedv part or.

perform any material function'in so far asf A Y *sect-ion:lloeingfofsuch size andshapey that it PATENT OEE-Ion.-.`

j L, ALEHANEER; G. MCKENNA ANn WILLIAM EALTON, or WASHINGTON, iiIs'TRicTl or Y j GOLUMRIA, .AssiGNORs TO WASHINGTON STEEL a ORDNANCEy COMPANY, OR j WASHINGTON, DISTRICT or COLUMBIA, A CORPORATION OE WEsT VIRGINIA.

Patented may embody just the proper quantity lof metal to accomplish thedesired endl and at the same time be susceptible of treatmentV for shaping and hardening to the bestl advantage by known shop methods and appliances, whereby difliculties heretofore encountered are' practically eliminated.

, yThe accompanying drawing illustrates the j front end of an armor piercing. projectile in outline and a cap embodying the present in-` vention in section..y

Y In said drawing the letter A- indicates the front end or nose ofy an armork piercing projectile of any usual or preferred type and B the bodyvof a so-called lsoft metal cap which is fitted to the front end ofthe projectile and held thereon by approved. fastening Apr. 29, 191e.. e

means, such, for example, as the groove a formed around the projectile` and into which the lower edge or skirt of the cap is peened as at b. The cap B may, if desiredcarryj atits forward end, as a prolongation there` of, a windshield C, asfhas heretofore been proposed, said windshield giving the proper or desired continuation of the contour linesy of the projectile and cap.' It performs but slight, ifany function in connection with thev armor piercing function; of the proj ectile as a Whole.

In accordance with the presentinvention.

the cap is provided 'at its forward end with a separately' formedv exceedingly hard .striking portion, the said striking portion andl body of they cap, being interlocked insuch I Wise as to afford mutual supper-tin resisting.

the strains incident toimpact and to perform the dual function, however, of sup-I porting the nose ofthe projectile and adiministering the greatest punishment tothe target at the moment Of impact. There is some diversity of Opinion in regardto just what does occur in producing the highly efficient armor piercing effect with a struc-l ture of this character, although .the results attained are demonstrable and'well recognized by those familiar with the actionof this type of projectile.

Inthe preferredconstruction illustrated4 in -*the accompanying drawing, thev eXceed-.. ingly hard and tough striking portion'ofthe cap indicated generally at D isseated ina recess 6 in the front end of the body of the capy Bl andV is retained thereinV by having thev .'cated at E, whereby the body of the cap and striking portion will be held` against catedbetween the point of theprojectile and ythe hardenedstriking part of thecap, and in f additiom "the cap is vpreferably so formed angular movement about the longitudinal axis of the projectile5 whereby thelparts will be held and accurately positioned when be` in assembled. 1

v considerable body of the relatively soft.`

but tough metalof the cap-is preferably lothat thel lateral flow of the relatively soft' metal back of the striking portion will be resisted by the conformation of the striking` portion itself. This can beuconveniently ac-f compli'shed by formingthe hardened striking portion of thecap with its rear face concave or with walls inclining toward the aXis of the projectile, as indicatedby the conif cal formation at F.V The forwardY face of the hardened striking pnrtion may conform yto any vof the contour lines of lapproved *form and may be, for example, of substantially i f the same formation asrthe rear or inner face,-

z. e.,rcon1cal and terminatlng 1n a central* point G. The inner-Tand outer faces', however,V aren preferably not precisely parallel as 1t is thought to be advantageous to forni the hardened portion of greaterfthickness-along the axial line ofthe projectile than yatY the periphery ofV the hardened portion', and

therefore the'angle ofthe -two conical faces isf slightly different.

portion such as described ymay be accurately and easily formed and the metal of thetwo portions may beV hardened'and "tei'nperedA withan exactness unattainable where a com# plicatedstructure is involved Vor where the' structure is integraland .made part hard'andfr part soft. YThe hardened striking portion Y may be made of the exact proportions neces?.` sary to attain the highest efliciencywith av Y' projectile of given weight and presents noV difficulty in its manufacture which 'cannot be readily overcome,V even when made YYof. the

`most refractory metal which does noti-lend itselfvto ordinary machine shop manipulation. For example, 'it may be a simple cast*-Y ing requiring no machine work whatsoever'. and'may,"therefore, be made of a1 metal which cannot beA subjected to machiningjopr" Y Yerations.l

Thepresent invention permits of a'manufacturing procedure which corresponds to the procedure commonly followed in the*V hardening of thegbody ofthe projectile, rthe application of the cap thereto, and the finish; j v

line of 'theprojectileLig Y Y Y Y 4A.' A capz'forj armor" piercing projectiles'. t embodying `a tbody-*ofirelatively?soft fanc'l`VYV A 'Cap with a Vdisk-1in,linden@searing' A n n tough metaladapted to surround?andsupg 7`V 1 at vthe vmoment 'of' impact.

ing Yof the assembled cap projectile `It overcomes difficulties Yencountered` in the Vmanufacture of projectiles havingcapswithf integral .hardenedv nose Y portions and mate'- comprising a body portion of relatively soft metal formed to inclose the hardenedV point vof '5 the Vproj ectile 1- and Y having; incorporatedV Y therein ,ati its forward end` aV separately 75 `f formed striking portion of exceedinglyhard andtoughmetal, the contactingfaces ofthe soft 'andh'ard' metal ofthe cap being formed to mutuallyr support each 'other' in'fresistinglz,

lateral deformation at the moment of impact. 80 i V-2. Acap `for armorY piercingY projectiles embodying a body portion ofrelatively soft j i i buttough metal formed'at its rear portion to receive and surround thehardened'pointof theprojectileand having af chamber in1itsf8r75*` "Y,

forward end, andi-a striking portion ofex.-y

ceedinglyhard Ild- YtOUlgli'Inetal mounted in Y A' said chamber, said hardened striking portion .and Abodyfgofrthe cap mutually supporting each other` againstdeformation atthe moi ment of-impact. F Y f l. j 3. VA Vcap gfor armor piercing projectiles" formed of a body `of relatively soft but ytough metal adapted to surroundandjsupport Vthe" n hardened point of the projectile, and a sepa rately'forined disk-like striking portiur'of'V hardened m'etalmounted inthe forward lend'V Y of Vsaid lca'pbody. and having al Vforwardly Y l recessed rear F.face in substantiallylthe;axiali port thevharde'nedpoint'ofthe projectile, the" 1 cess'fa'tits forward? end, with a forwardly" tion of exceedingly'hard andl tough metalof.

" disklike'formationiwith itslr'earface'ofi-eg` cessed conical jformation; 5to fit the corre `11o sponding face fof theI cap and seated in said-; chamber-like@recess.'v y; f

5. A-fcap for armor; piercing Y Y embodying a ibody" offrelatively; softi Vand Ytoughfx'netalC adapted to surround [and: sup'-V 1115 port the hardened-"point of the"proj'ecltile,fVV Y and i al disk-like striking Yportion of feXceedi ingly hard'and tough metalforming the for-f y ward end of said cap,'said Striking'portion-` Y Y 7o i 1. A caprfor armor piercing projectiles 1 'Y having'itsffro'nt and' rear faces ofvconica'l 1'20 formation, whereby the body ofthe cap and" striking portion mutuall y 'SUPPQI each other fg. Y* .i

. j ALEXANDER GQMGK'ENNA; 1 HWIYLfLIAM DALTQN, v Y .e

Gopie's of this kpiicelitlniaywbefolitainedfor'ivei'zents each," addressing the Commissioner tflat'ents; Washington, 1)..0. 

